Stock feeding appliance



.Fune 20, 1950 J. A. POWELL 2,512,260

s'rocx FEEDING APPLIANCE 53 A. P0 Well ATTCI RN EYS INVENTOR;

Patented June 20, 1950 v 2,512,260 'ISTOCK'FEEDING AP LIANCE I, ess.A.-Powell, San Antonio, Tex.. I a 'l c'ation'rlii 24, 1947, serial No. 763.277

2 Claims. (Cl. 119-535)] This invention relates to stock feeding appa= ratus. j I

It is an object of the present invention to provide stock feeding apparatus which is made'up of several parts, which may be formed of concrete or the like and which can be assembled upon a base to provide a feeding trough, a feed containing cylinder, acover over the feeding trough, a cover overthe feedcontaining cylinder and means at the bottom of the fe'ed'container for controlling the fiowof feed into the feeding trough. r It is another object of the present invention to provide a feeding apparatus of the type. described; which is of circular-shap, having means'onthe supporting feed trough base which will extend outwardly into the trough so that it can'be moved by the nose of the stock as they are feeding; whereby to keep the feed from-caking or bridge ing the interior of the feed container'and-where by to maintain'a constant flow of :feed through the opening. r Other objects of the present invention'are to provide a stock feeding apparatus which'is of simple construction, easy to" install, inexpensive to manufacture and effic'ient'in operation;

For other objects and for a betterunderstand ing of the invention, reference maybe had to the following detailed description "taken'in connection with the accompanying drawing; in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view, partly in section and partly broken away, of a stock feeding apparatus embodying the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the stock feeding apparatus with portions broken away about the feeding trough;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectionalview substantially on line 3-53 of Figure 2; i ,E

Figure 4 is a vertical cross sectional'view'ota modified form of the inventionj-ff Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view lo'okzing upon the interior cone formation on the feed trough shown in Figure 4 and mounted thereon,

the device for maintaining the constant fiow of feed into the feed trough,,the cone basebeing modified to adapt the construction for coarser ground feed;

Figure 6 is a detailed view of one of the arms of the agitating device which extends through the side of the feed container for engagement by the nose of the animal and Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary and perspective view showing the ring to which the eleand' the conical saddle carrying the ring by which it is retained upon the top of the cone formation. i

Referring now to Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, l0 represents a tubular base on which a circular feed trough II is mounted. This feed trough has formed integral therewith, an upwardly tapered conical feeddistributor 12' in the center of' the feed trough over 'which'there is mounted; the lower end of a tubular. feed container 'or hopper I3. This feed container [3 has an upwardly bevelled inner marginal edgexM, Figure 2, which closely contactsthe wall of the'feed distributor l2 and'conforming thereto, prevents lateral movement of the hopper [3 on the distributor I2. The lower end ofthe hopper is also provided with vertical elongated. relatively spaced openings l5 through which theffeed will'pass to the feeding trough II. The rate of flow of the feed to the. trough I l is'controlled by a gate or ring l6, which surrounds the lower 'end portion ofthe hopper I3 and has slots H therein extending upwardly from the bottom edgethereof; The gateit is rotatable with relation to the hopper ll so that its slots I! may be moved intoor out of alinement with' the slots it in the hopper l3. The gate or ring. 16 is provided with an outwardly extending handle Iii-to facilitate the rotation thereof. r

' On the top of the feed container I3, there is mounted a circular cover plate l9 adapted to overhang the trough and prevent water from dripping" into the sarne.-. This cover has :anup'-' wardly extending flange over which a feed conment is attached interiorly of the feed container 55 tainer 'cover I2! is extended, .so as to keepthe water from entering i thefifeed container. 1 The flange isi notsh'own in'i'Fig'ure lfibut it is of the same'con'figuration as flange 20 to be'l'ater described,and shownin Figure 4; I r I In the modified form of the invention forthe coarser" ground feed'shown in Figuresfri and 5, it will be noted that'the'trou'gh ii I' is provided with 2. dependingcircular shoulder 22 which engages within the 'upper -end of *the base 1'0. to prevent the trough H from sliding" off of the :base' l 0 and the trough I I is of the same configuration as trough 'l l:'-.:' The conical feed distributorsil 2 has a cavity 2 3' therein-fiproviding a' lighter: formation than if the distributor were of solid formation, and the distributor i2 is of the same configuration as the distributor l2. The distributo 12' has substantially pentagonal shaped ribs or projections 24 circumferentially spaced therearound and extending upwardly and below these projections are the projections 25 having fiat support-' plate I9, and the rib 33 is received in the am nular groove 3! of the plate 19'. The groove 3| is concentric with the central opening 32 of the plate 19', which permits the filling of the hopper (3 with feed. The flange 20 of the plate l9 connected with the opening 32 enters theannular groove 33 formed by the depending annular ribs 34 and 35 of the cover 2!, and thus the plate and cover and hopper are prevented from lateral movement with respect to each other. The formation of the elements IO, M, I2, I3, I9, 28 and 2! of the apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 3 is of the same configuration of the similarly primed numbered elements of. the modification above described.

In both forms of invention, there is mounted on the distributor l2 and I2 an agitating device which includes a conical shaped saddle cap 36 having a ring 31 secured to its bottom edge by the relatively spaced upturned lips 38. To this ring 37, there are connected a plurality of agitating elements 38 which have a hook formation 40 which extends over the ring, and are movable on the ring with the slots 4| formed in the saddle 36 intermediate the lips 38. These agitating ele-' ments are retained against displacement n the ring by the lip formations 38. Each one of the agitating elements 39 extends downwardly between the ribs 24 and 25 on the distributor, and are provided with the U-shaped inclined feet M which extend outwardly over the floor of the feeding trough and have outwardly extending projections 42 adapted to be engaged by the nose of the animal while eating, so as to be shifted back and forth to free the feed within the container and to cause its downward flow over the feed distributor and between the ribs 24 and 25 through which the particular agitating element is extended. This agitating. element 39 has upstanding projections 43 which will project upwardly into the feed for the agitation of the feed. Thus in Figures 1 to 3, the feeder is designed for feeding minerals or fine feed, the gate I6 controlling the amount of feed to be delivered to the trough I l, and the feeder shown in Figures 4 and is designed for a mixture of mineral and protein feeding or a coarser feed. The amount of feed being delivered to the trough is determined by the height of the ribs 25. The higher the ribs, the more feed distributed, and the lower the ribs, the less feed distributed.

There has thus been provided a stock feeder which is adapted for use for feeding stock in the sheds, or on the open range, and more particularly the latter.

The parts comprising the feeder are made of durable material that will withstand all types of weather,

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: 1. In an agitator means for a stock feedin apparatus having a base, a trough mounted on the base having a central conical formation, a feed containing cylinder mounted on the trough, cover means extending over the feed container and the trough to keep the trough free of water, the improvement comprising agitating means including a saddle cone adapted to be supported from the top of the conical formation, a plurality of turned up relatively spaced lips on the periphcry of the saddle cone, a ring member supported by said lips, agitating elements connected to the ring intermediate of the turned up lips and extending radially outwardly under the bottom of the feed container and into the trough and adapted to be engaged by the animal while eating from the trough, whereby to cause the agitation of the feed within the container and its outward flow into the trough, and the turned up lips'limiting the movement of the agitating elements along the ring.

2. A stock feeding apparatus comprising a tubular base, a trough having a centrally located depending circular flange on the bottom surface thereof to' be received in said base whereby said trough is mounted on the base, said trough hav ing a central conical formation, a feed containing cylinder mounted on the trough, and cover means extending over the feed container and the trough to keep the trough free of water, said conical formation having ribs circumferentially spaced therearound to support said feed container and provide openings between said ribs and below the lower edge of said container, through which the feed can be lowered, and agitating means supported from the top of the conical formation and having a plurality of agitating elements respectively extending through the space between the ribs, and extending radially outwardly under the bottom of the feed container and into the trough and adapted to be engaged by the animal while eating 'from the trough, whereby to cause the agitation of the feed within the container and its outward flow into the trough.

JESS A. POWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 364,557 Walin June 7, 1887 1,005,071 Randall Oct. 3, 1911 1,477,121 Henderson Dec. 11, 1923 2,226,476 Maggart Dec. 24, 1940 2,429,542 Amstutz Oct. 21, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 206,561 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1923 

